Ottawa plans to spend $175 million over two years to clean up old contaminated sites under its jurisdiction, today’s federal budget says.

The government says the $175 million will go to a central fund to make resources available, on an ongoing basis, to clean up higher-risk federal sites.

Ottawa is also committing $40 million over two years to promote best practices and develop new regulations to improve air quality. The funds will also be used to work with the U.S. to improve transborder air quality. This will include pilot projects in key affected areas, such as the B.C. Georgia/Puget Sound basin and the Great Lakes.

Other environmental initiatives in the budget include:

  • The excise tax exemption for ethanol and methanol in blended gasolines is being extended to include ethanol and methanol in blended diesel fuels;
  • excise tax exemption for biodiesel fuel produced from biomass or renewable feedstocks;
  • tax incentives for renewable and alternative energy, including stationary fuel cell systems, equipment used for electricity generation from bio-oil, and certain types of equipment used in greenhouse development;
  • $250 million for the Sustainable Development Technology Canada foundation, which received an initial endowment of $100 million in 2001;
  • an additional $50 million for the Canadian Foundation for Climate and Atmospheric Sciences, after an initial $60 million in startup funds in 2001;
  • to support implementation of the Kyoto accord on climate change in Canada, a plan to spend $1.7 billion over five years supporting innovation and measures that promote energy-efficiency and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. At least $200 million of the $1.7 billion will be set aside for other investments in long-term climate-change technologies.
  • as announced in the September Throne Speech, Ottawa is going ahead with 10 new national parks, five new marine conservation areas and plans to restore ecological health of existing parks. This will cost $74 million in the first two years.